Folding chair



Oct. 17, 1944- w. E. CLARIN FLDING CHAIR Filed July 1, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENToR. Z//erzzer/CZQ mbv,

W. E. CLARIN 2,360,400

FOLDING CHAIR oct. 17, 1944.

Filed July l, 1942 2 Sheets--Sheerl 2 WLMI Patented Oct 17, 1944 FOLDING CHAIR Werner E. Clarin, Chicago, Ill., assigner of onehalf to Abe J. Jacobson, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 1, 1942, Serial No. 449,211

Claims.

This invention relates to folding or collapsible chairs and more particularly to a linkage or bracing means adapted to support and lock a collapsible chair in open or extended position against inadvertent collapse.

Heretofore, one of the recognized disadvantages of certain types of collapsible chairs has been their inability to maintain themselves in open or extended position under al1 conditions of use, including both normal and extreme usage. It has been found that a collapsible chair will function satisfactorily and remain in fully extended position when the user of the chair is seated in normal position with his weight disposed on the center and forward portions of the seat, since pressure against these portions-of the seat tends to force and hold the chair in fully extended position. s However, when that weight is shifted to the rear portion of the seat under certain conditions of normal and extreme usage, the seat has a tendency to turn about its pivotal supports, causing the forward portion of the seat to raise upwardly and its rear portion to move downwardly and eventually effecting the folding of the chair to fully collapsed position. For instance, at public gatherings in auditoriums, gymnasiums and the like where chairs of this character are employed in great numbers, the occupants of such collapsible chairs in moments of great emotion or in order to improve their view have been known to stand up on the seats and to unthinkingly place their weight upon the rear portions of the seats, which action has caused the chairs to collapse unexpectedly and the occupants thereof to be thrown to the ground or floor, to their injury.

In view of this recognized danger, attempts have been made to provide means to prevent such inadvertent collapse under all conditions of normal and extreme usage. However, these attempts have proven unsatisfactory thus far, for varying reasons. In some instances the means provided wholly failed to accomplish their intended purpose, while in other instances their construction, although accomplishing to some degree of satisfaction the provision of a folding chair which was rendered noncollapsible under extreme conditions of usage, nevertheless was expensive and so cumbersome and complicated in operation that they were unacceptable commercially. l It is, therefore, one of the principal objects of my invention to provide a collapsible chair comprising means adapted to maintain said chair in fully open and extended position under all conditions of normal and extreme usage.

Another object of my invention is to provide a collapsible chair comprising means adapted to maintain said chair in open and extended position and to prevent inadvertent collapse of said chair when downward pressure is applied on the rear portion of the seat thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provide a linkageA or bracing means adapted to support and lock a collapsible chair in extended position against inadvertent collapse under al1 conditions of normal and extreme usage which is ofsimple and inexpensive construction and by which said chair may be easily and quickly opened and maintained in locked position or may be, after use, readily released from locked position and returned to collapsed position.

A still further object is to provide a linkage mechanism for supporting and locking a collapsible chair in extended position against inadvertent collapse which comprises interengaging elements adapted'to be moved automatically into interengaged and seat-supporting position merely by the application of the weight of an occupant on the seat and without any conscious act or understanding on the part of the'occupant to accomplish said interengagement of the elements.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a right-side elevational View of a collapsible chair embodying the improved linkage and seat-supporting means comprising my invention and illustrating the chair in fully open or extended position. v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary rightside elevational view illustrating the supporting linkage and seat-supporting means comprising my invention, both in locked and unlocked positions, and operably connected to the seat and the right rear leg of the chair shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating the rightehand linkage and seat-supporting means in interengaged seat-supporting position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View taken on the line 4 4 in Fig looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The collapsible `chair illustrated in the drawings with which my invention is operably associated is of the inverted Y type, this classificati-on being derived from the angular manner in which the rear legs are disposed with respect to the front legs as viewed from the side. Generally, the chair illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5 comprises two rear legs IU and and two front legs I2 and |3 which are adapted to support a seat I4 when in fully open or extended position. The front legs I2 and I3 are connected by a reinforcing crossbar I5 and they are also integrally connected to a semicircular back frame member I6, the legs I2 and I3 and the back frame member I6 being, therefore, of one-piece construction. A web or back support I6a is secured within the back frame member I6. rIhe front legs I2 and I3 are provided at their upper portions with rearwardly extending brackets I1, to which the rear legs ID and II, respectively, are Apivotally connected. The rear legs II! and are also connected by two reinforcing horizontal cross-bars I9 v and 20.

The seat I4, whichis comprised of an outer frame member I4zt within which is mounted a relativelyv thin weber seat member |410, is pivotally mounted between the front legs I2 and |3fon pivot pins 22 and 23 which extend throughthe front legs I2 and I3 and through the sides of the seat frame member |43. The seat I4, the legs I0, I2 and I3, the back frame I6 and the back support I6a may be comprised of wood or the like, while the other attachments and fittings which have been or will be described hereinafter may be of metal or other sufficiently strong material.

The seat frame I4a is maintained in spaced relation from the front legs I2 and I3 for relative pivotal movement by spacing brackets or angle plates 24 and 25 through which the pivot pins 22 and 23 extend. The seat |4 is also supported at its sides rearwardly of the pins 22 and 23 by link members 26 and 21, respectively, which are pivotally mounted at their rearward ends on pivot pins 23 and 29 secured on the upper portions ofV the rear legs- I0 and I I, respectively, and extending from the inner faces thereof, and pivotally mounted at their forward ends to the seat frame I4a on pivot pins 36 and 3| secured to the sides of the seat frame I4a and extending outwardly therefrom. Because the construction of the link members 26` and 2-1 and the constructioncf the elements carried by the seat and adapted to engage the link members in seat-supporting position are identical, it is deemed sufficient for the purposes of the present description to set forth in detail the linkage mechanism and associated elements for only the right-hand side of the chair.

The forward end of the right-hand link 26 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 32 through which the pivot pin 3B of the seat frame I4a extends. The pivot pin 3|! `is provided with a head 3`|a and a washer 33 is interposed between the head 3i)a and the link member 26, this foregoing construction facilitating pivotal and lon'- gitudinal Sliding movement of the pin 36 in the slot 32. The link member 26, near its rearward end. is formed with an offset angular portion 34 which servesto maintainthe rear leg Iii in spaced relation from the seat frame Ilia, the pivot pin 28 extending through the offset portion 34 and through the rear leg le to which it is secured. On the extreme end of the link 25 rearwardly of the offset portion 34 but in the same plane of the portion of the link forwardlyV of the offset portion, there is a rearwardly extending lug 35 which slopes downwardly and forwardly, providing a vertical cam face 35a. The link member 26 with its component parts is so constructed and arranged that it assumes a substantially horizontal position, when the chair is in fully open position, in substantially parallel relation vertically to and in substantially the same horizontal plane as the seat I4 so as to blend therewith and present a neat appearance when viewed from the side.

The seat frame I48L on each of its sides is provided with metal reinforcing means which extend rearwardly from a point a short distance forwardly of the pivot pins 22 and 23' to the rear corners of the seat frame I4a and around said rear corners to the back of the frame |421. Since the reinforcing means on both the leftand righthand sides of the seat frame I4a are identical, a description of only the right-hand reinforcing means will be sufficient. Specifically, the reinforcing or frame-strengthening means comprises an .elongated member or plate 36 of L-shaped cross section, the vertical and horizontal portions of which lit fiush against the outer vertical and lower horizontal faces, respectively, of the side of the seat frame I4, The reinforcing plate 36 is secured to the side of the seat frame I4a by spacedrivets 31 and 38 which extend vertically through the seat frame I4a and through the lower horizontal portion of the reinforcing plate 36. The rivet 38 also extends through the lower horizontal portion 24a of the bracket 24 and serves to secure the bracket 24 to the seat frame I4a in spacing position.

The rearward end of the reinforcing plate 36 at the right rear corner of the frame I4a is provided with a vertical slot 39 which is adapted to receive the end 40 of a metal strip-4| extending at substantially right angles toY the reinforcing plate member 3B along the back of said seat frame |411.. Theend 40 extends through the vertical slot 39, and is doubled back upon itself to form a hook around the vertical end portion 42 of the reinforcing plate 36. The metal strip 4| is positioned flushagainst the vertical face of the rear portion of, the seat frame I4a and its other end 43 is countersunk and secured therein byv a screw. 44.

By the aforesaid frame-strengthening means, the pressures and stresses to which the wooden seat frame |4a is subjected during use when the chair is in fully open position are transmitted from the frame I4EL to the metal reinforcing plate 36. With the strengthening members Vextending a slight distance forwardly of the pivot pins 22 and 23, the fulcrum points of the seat I4, downward pressures applied to the front end of the seat I4 are transmitted through the frame |4- to the reinforcing plate 36 and thence to the back portion of the frame |4a through the metal strip 4l. This transmission and .distribution of pressures prevents the cracking of the side portions of the seat frame |41al during use.

The reinforcing plate 36 is also provided with an.,-elongated hooked member 45 at the upper portion of its extreme rearward end, this hooked member 45 being struck from the vertical body portionofy the reinforcing plate 36 and bent forwardly and downwardly therefrom. This hooked member 45 is adapted to engage the top surface of the vertical lug 35 and to support the seat I4 against-collapsible movement when downward pressure is applied to the rear portion of the seat I4 when in fully open position.

Another hooked member 46 is provided` at the bottom of the vertical face of the reinforcing plate 36 intermediate the pivot pin 3U and the offset portion 34 of the link. 26, this hooked member 46 being struck from the lower horizontal face of the reinforcing plate 36 and being bent backwardly so as to project outwardly and then upwardly in parallel relation to the vertical face of the plate 36. This second hooked member 46 is adapted to engage the link member 26 at its lower edge intermediate the link slot 32 and the offset portion 34 and serves as a stop element for limiting the opening pivotal movement of the seat I4.

The foregoing arrangement of parts provides a collapsible chair which may be easily opened to extended position and locked therein against inadvertent collapse, and which also may be released from locked position and returned to a collapsed position with a minimum of effort. Commencing with the chair in the collapsed position, the forward portion of the seat, which is initially in substantially vertical position, may be grasped and pulled forwardly. As the front portion of the seat I4 is pulled forwardly it moves downwardly at the same time and its rear portion moves rearwardly and upwardly, the seat I4 turning on its pivot pins 22 and 23 during this operation. At the same time, as the seat I 4 is being turned to substantially horizontal position, the rear legs II) and II are swung outwardly or rearwardly away from the front legs I2 'and I3 through the action of the links 26 and 2'I.

As the seat I4 nears the end of its opening pivotal movement, the right-hand edge 45SL of the hooked member 45 engages the cam face 35a of the lug 35 at its lower end and rides upwardly on this cam face 35a upon continued opening pivotal movement of the seat I4. When the hooked member 45 reaches the top of the lug camway 35a, it is in registration or alignment with the top edge of the lug 35, and at this point the lower hooked member 46 engages the lower edge of the link member 26, thereby preventing further pivotal opening movement of the seat I4 and stopping the hooked member 45 in alignment with the top edge of the lug 35.

By application of additional downward pressure on the front end of the seat I4, which causes slight further spreading movement of the front and rear legs, the hooked member and the lug 35 are slidably moved in a direction longitudinal of the link 26 into interlocking engagement with each other, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. In this interlocked position the hooked member 45 overlies the top edge of the lug 35 and is supported thereby when the chair is in fully open position. When the hooked member 45 is moved into engagement with the lug 35, the pivot pin 30 simultaneously slides to the forward end of the link slot 32.

The additional downward pressure by which the foregoing parts are interengaged in seatsupporting position may be applied not only manually on the front end of the seat I4, but also by the weight of an occupant assuming a seated position on the seat I4, which spreads the chair legs still farther and hence automatically moves the interengaging elements 35 and 45 into locked position. This automatic movement of the elements to locked position may be achieved without any conscious effort or understanding of the linkage locking mechanism of the Chair Iby the occupant thereof, who is thereby protected against collapse of the chair regardless of Where downward pressure may be applied on the seat I4. For instance, if the occupant, in moments of great emotional stress or for other reasons, should stand or jump on the seat I4, and apply relatively great pressure to the rear portion thereof, collapsible pivotal movement' of the seat I4 about the pivot pins 22 and 23 is prevented bythe engagement of the hook member 45 of the seat plate 36 over the lug 35 of the link 26.

By a reversal of the above-described operation, the chair may also 'be rapidly returned to collapsed position.` After the chair has first been rocked backwardly by a person standing behind the chair and the two rear legs II'I and II raised slightly from the floor, the legs I0`and II may be lowered with suicient force against the floor at their rear edges so as to effect forward movement of the link '26 and consequent disengagement of the lug 35 from the hooked member 45. Simultaneously, the pin 39 moves relatively to the link 26 and reaches the rearward end of the slot 32. The hooked member 45 may also be yreleased from supporting engagement with the lug 35 by merely striking rearwardly against the front edge of the seat I4 a slight blow with the hand, causing the same relative movement to released position, as above described. With the above parts in released position, the forward portion of the seat I4 may then be grasped and moved upwardly and rearuwardly, the seat I4 turning about its pivot p-ins 22 and 23, until completely collapsed position is attained.

Although I have illustrated andV described my invention specifically in the foregoing drawings and description, it is to be understood that changes and modilications may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a collapsible chair having front and rear legs, the rear legs being pivotally connected at their upper portions to the front legs, and a seat adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position from said legs and being pivotally mounted on said front legs; the combination of an elongated link member at each side of said seat having a pivotal connection to the adjacent rear leg of the chair at its rearward end and a pivotal and longitudinally slidable connection to said seat at its Vforward end, and means carried by said seat adapted to be moved in a direction longitudinal of the link members into engagement with the top edge of each of said link members and to support said seat in fully extended position against collapsible movement when downward pressure is applied to the rear portion of said seat.

2. In a collapsible chair having front and rear legs, the rear legs being pivotally connected at their upper portions to the front legs, and a seat adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position from said legs and being pivotally mounted on said front legs; the combination oiy an elongated link member at each side of said seat having a pivotal connection to the adjacent rear leg of the chair at its rearward end and a pivotal and longitudinally slidable connection to said seat at its forward end, one of said links having a supporting lug at its rearward end, and a projecting member carried by said seat adapted to be moved in a direction longitudinal of the said one link member into engagement with said lug and to support said seat in fully extended position against collapsible movement when downward pressure is applied to the rear portion of said seat.

3. In a collapsible chairhaving front and rear legs, the rear legs being pivotally connected at their upper portions to the front legs, and a seat adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position from said legs and being pivotally mounted on said front legs; the combination of an elongated link member at each side of said seat having a pivotal connection to the adjacent rear leg of the chair at rits rearward end, apivotal and slidable connection to said seat at its forward end, and a longitudinally extending lug at its rearwardy end, said lugs having upwardly and rearwardly extending cam faces on their rear- Ward ends, and projecting members carried by said seat adapted to engage and ride the cam faces of said lugs to the top edges thereof when said seat is being movedrto extended position and to be moved in a forward `direction longitudinally of the link members along the top edges of said lugs to interengaged position so as to support said seat in fully extended position when downward pressure is applied to the rear portion of said seat.

4. In a collapsible chair having front and rear legs, the rear legs being pivotally connected at their upper portions to the front legs, and a seat adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position from said legs and being pivotally mounted on said front legs; the combination of an elongated link member at each side of said seat having a pivotal connection to the adjacent rear leg of the chair at its rearward end and a pivotal and slidable connection to said seat at its forward end, and interengaging means carried by said seat and interengaging means carried by the rear portion of each of said link members adapted to be automatically moved in a direction longitudinally of the link members to fully interengaged position by the weight of the occupant on the seat and toy support said seat in fully extended position against collapsible movement when downward pressure is applied to the rear portion of said seat, and stop means for limiting opening pivotal movement of said seat and for aligning said interengaging means prior to rela-- tive movement of said interengaging means 1ongitudinally to interengaged position.

5. In a collapsible chair having front and rear legs, the rear legs being pivotally connected at their upper portions to the front legs, and a seat adapted to be supported in substantially horizontal position from said legs and being pivotally mounted on said front legs; the combination of an elongated link member at each side of said seat having a pivotalconnection to the adjacent rear leg of the chair at its rearward end, and a pivotal and slidable connection to said seat at its forward end, and projecting members carried by said seat adapted to be moved in a direction longitudinal of the link members into engagement with the top edge of the rear portion of each of said link members and to support said seat in fully extended position against collapsible movement when downward pressure is applied to the rear portion of said seat, and stop means for limiting opening `pivotal movement of said seat to align said projecting members with the top edge of each of said link members prior to relative longitudinal movement of said members to engaged position WERNER E. CLARIN. 

